Box Score River Forest, Ill. - The Concordia University Chicago Cougars welcomed their Division Street rivals, the Stars of Dominican University, to their home court for a mid-week matchup. After a major battle, the cougars miraculously took the game with a final score of 69-67.
Inside the Box Score:
- Naveya Jackson (Sun Prairie, Wis.) led the game with 19 points, four rebounds, a block and a steal.
- Ai Yonemura (Yachiyo, Chiba-Japan) ended the game with 16 points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals.
- Sophia Pedraza (Carol Stream, Ill.) concluded the game with 12 points, three rebounds, two assists and a steal.
- Grace King (Fairland, Ind.) ended the game with nine points and led with 11 rebounds; other stats include an assist.
Here's What Happened
First Quarter
The Stars were the first on the scoreboard with a layup, quickly followed up with a three from a Star. The Stars landed their second layup, leading by seven points against the Cougars. Free throws and a layup from Yonemura started the Cougars' scoring. Pedraza joined in and had gotten in a layup off the fast break, 5-9. The Stars continued to put up points, pushing the Cougars down by 11. The Cougars surpassed 10 points with driving layups from Jackson and Yonemura, but the Stars remained in the lead by eight. The Stars went into the second quarter in the lead at 20-12.
Second Quarter
Yonemura had gotten in the first points of the quarter with a layup, but that was easily countered with a jumper from a Star. Pedraza landed the first Cougar three of the game off of a turnover, 17-22. The Stars pushed forward, but Yonemura got in a three, keeping the point gap close. A 3-point jumper from
Emma Nickerson (Lake City, Mich.) had put the Cougars within four. The Cougars had gotten some free throws in, putting them within three of the Stars. The Stars remained in the lead, going into halftime at 34-30.
Halftime
At the start of halftime, the Cougars recognized their lone senior in Student Director of Basketball Operations
Becky Colmenares. Colmenares spent time previously as a player on the women's basketball team before stepping into this new role where she has impacted the team in many ways. The day-to-day operations of the program has seen signifcant increase in productivity and the coaching staff has a new-found reliable member to enhance the team's success. CUC Women's Basketball and Cougar Athletics thanks Colmenares for her long-term committment to CUC.
Third Quarter
The Stars had hit a jumper to start the third quarter.
Abbi Dykstra (Yale, Mich.) fought back and hit a layup off of a turnover. This was paired with a 3-pointer from Pedraza, bringing the Cougars within three. While in the paint, Yonemura had gotten in a driving layup, 37-39. A driving layup from Pedraza tied the teams up for the first time of the game. The Stars quickly broke that up, leading by five once again. Yonemura and Jackson got in some driving layups, putting themselves on the tails of the Stars. With 0:32 left in the quarter, Yonemura got another layup in, eating away at the Stars' growing lead.
Hannah Lopez (Chicago, Ill.) had put up a great three, breaking 50 for the Cougars. The Stars continued to top the court at 53-50.
Fourth Quarter
The Stars came out strong to start the quarter with a three. Jackson retaliated with two driving layups. King pumped out free throws the entire game, but the free throws in the quarter helped to get the Cougars within reach of the Stars. Lopez got in a tip-in layup, 60-62. The teams tied up once more after a free throw from Jackson. Jackson continued to put up a fight, consistently chasing after the lead. A driving layup from Jackson brought the Cougars into the lead. Miraculously, the Cougars snatched the win with a final score of 69-67.
What's Next
The team will travel to Plymouth, Wis. on February 21st to go up against the Muskies of Lakeland University. The game will take place at the Woltzen Gymnasium at 1 pm. Coverage for all things CUC women's basketball can be found at
cucougars.com/coverage.
